Best Merchandising Management Software of Garments Industry

What is Merchandising Software?

Simply put, merchandising software denotes the business software solution that streamlines in-store merchandising. It is designed to simplify communication between HQ and field staff.

Also, it simplifies scheduling, route & task management, increases liability through quality assurance features, and enhances reporting and transparency. This software is mainly used in merchandising companies and retailer brands;

• Allocates tasks to qualified workers
• Validate work and compliance
• Combine timekeeping with payroll
• Report to the clients
• Collect store and shelf data

Companies that handle complex product series perform massive merchandising processes and sell to large customer base often choose a standalone merchandising system.

So it can integrate with SCM, ERP, and other business software solutions seamlessly. Countless features support key merchandising processes for overall business industries.

What are the Common Features of Merchandising System?

There are thousands of unique features within the merchandising software system. These include specific abilities that most companies require with special features. Besides, those serve particular verticals and industries.

Among the many features, price engines are the core features of merchandising systems. This helps retailers price items depending on competitors' prices, demand, gross profit margins, etc.

In addition to this, the significant features of merchandising system software are;

• Stock forecasting

Forecasting inventory in line with demand and supply data can increase the final result of any business involved in merchandising. Many companies process too much stock, which can reduce profits.

But at the same time, failure to meet demand may lead to missed prospects for better profits. So, these features of the merchandising system are essential for any business.

• Register Management

Register management helps brick-and-mortar and digital retailers manage and monitor transactions. Both online and on-site registers have many common processes.

So these can be simplified into the merchandising system. It provides a seamless experience for employees and customers while producing a consistent data set.

• Promotion Management

Offering promotions and special offers can significantly motivate customers to buy things. Businesses can conduct extensive promotions for countless products through a merchandising system.

Promotion management helps predict sales, analyze the effectiveness of promotions, and automatically implement markdowns and other special offers.

Standard Modules Involved in Merchandising Software

After studying merchandising solutions available today, we found the following modules involved in merchandising software.

• Inventory optimization
• Inventory management
• Revenue management
• Price management
• Reports and queries
• Point of Sale
• Master setup

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Best Merchandising Management Software – Buyers Guide

Over the past decade, the retail merchandising software market has become more and more complex. ERP vendors and retail experts have created widespread confusion between merchandising, inventory management, and supply chain management.

They made merchandising market more complex than it really is. To help you know where to start and understand the market, here we come with a buyer's guide.

First and foremost, we suggest you perform a transparent evaluation of current software systems. It will likely disclose potential progress for both merchandising software and procedures.

After the evaluation, you should get a set of business requirements. These requirements should be the priority of your business. With a custom set of requirements, you can interact with software vendors.

This will help you determine a shortlist of solutions that you should consider in detail. Your preferred list should involve every aspect of setting up a new merchandising system verified for each vendor.

These include implementation partnerships, add-ons, customization, training, and other considerations. However, your list of requirements will remain effective throughout the selection process. You can also add individual software features to your list.

Pricing Considerations

Every business is different, so as the costs. The size of the company purchasing the solution is one of the factors influencing software prices. Larger businesses have complex requirements, more users, and massive merchandising activities.

By calculating the Total Cost of Ownership, companies can determine the solution's price. The TCO considers all price considerations to determine the lifespan of the solution. It is worthwhile to calculate TCO for at least more than five years.

What are the Best Merchandising System Software Vendors?

The best merchandising software vendors provide software that works fine through various industries and verticals. These can manage any common needs altogether.

Below is a list of the best retail merchandising software available on the market;

• PrismERP
• Oracle
• IBM
• Microsoft
• Epicor
• SAP
• Agiliron
• Brightpearl

Benefits of Merchandising Software System

If appropriately implemented, merchandising management systems can provide several benefits. It impacts multiple aspects of the companies that use optimal merchandising systems.

Merchandising solutions combine support for back-office operations such as inventory management and front-facing systems. The most common benefits of a merchandising system include;

Improved Inventory

Merchandising system is one of the powerful analytical tools that provide perception into basic merchandising decisions. For example;

• Which items are best sold in which position?
• Which inventory mix and item pair lead to cross-sales growth?
• What is the rate of sale of goods in different seasons?

Knowing the answer to these questions helps retailers in optimizing inventory. So they can have the right amount of items on sale at the right time.

Automation of Manual Work

Apparently, a merchandising system can help reduce the amount of manual work done by employees. Instead, it automates the manual works and processes such as managing data inputs, applying markdowns, and ordering stock supplies.

Thus, it boosts productivity by increasing the speed and accuracy of processes. The automation of tasks and processes makes the employees free to work elsewhere.

Better Revenue

The merchandising software system gives a better understanding of customer demands. So the retailers can increase sales and prevent overstocks of items—all these results in maximizing revenue.

Make Inventory Data Transparent

Many businesses struggle to maintain precise inventory information, which leads to many costly issues. For example – excessive inventory, missing stock, and constraints.

With the best-fit merchandising software, the business can monitor stock levels and product movement. Also, it helps them to connect inventory data with similar processes like pricing management, procurement, etc.

Improved Customer Service

When the customers experience obstacles during the purchasing process, they may become frustrated. On the other hand, retailers expect to keep customers satisfied and return them for purchasing.

In this case, the merchandising system makes a balance between both. Merchandising software has all the attributes to ensure a smooth buying experience. The automation ensures the staff members spend less time searching for items.

They can focus more on building a relationship with customers and help them find out-of-stock or back-ordered items. Thus, it reduces customers' frustration.

Potential Issues Regarding Merchandising Software System

Along with several benefits, merchandising software also has a few potential issues. The most common among them are associated with costs and ease of use. This first risk is a common one for most enterprise IT implementations.

IT buyers should make sure that the system is not overly complicated. Also, they should not try to save costs by decreasing training. Improper training is a significant contributor to failed implementation, so proper training is crucial.

What's more, merchandising systems can be costly like most other enterprise systems. But, it costs more when the business does not have a formal system.

After implementing the merchandising system, the retailers should keep close tabs on revenue and profit margin. So they can gauge their overall ROI (Return of Investment). With that in mind, a properly implemented merchandising system is essential for a positive ROI.

Final Words

Technological advances lead to an easier way to deal with the most complex management situations. The increasing customer demands in the garments industry have led to the need for merchandising management software.

Merchandising software does everything to keep business operations running smoothly. This software provides good inventory management and other processes like product design, fulfillment, and accounting.